Dandelions
by lemmesay
Summary: Spring, the hobbits, dandelion crown and sneezing. Set before Rings; mild Merry/Pippin slash. Thanks Anne for the betaread. Feedback, please : .


Dandelions

It was one of those quite-warm-but-not-really-hot-yet days in the beginning of spring. Generally, spring was the favourite season of most hobbits (unless you were some sort of boots wearing hobbit who likes to _sledge_). It was Merry's favourite season as well. He loved the colours and he loved the Shire waking up, the hills getting covered with rich green grass, and the trees rustling in a warm breeze. He liked watching the insects showing up after long winter breaks; all those cute little bugs and beetles and various sorts of long-legged and short-legged spiders.

Merry was pretty much sure that spring was also Pippin's favourite season. Although sometimes he doubted it watching his younger cousin smile at falling leaves in autumn. But there was nothing poetic or romantic in that look. The little crafty hobbit just couldn't wait for the fruits. The apple trees of the Shire usually produced big delicious apples Pippin loved so much. So it was all about the food again (very hobbitish indeed). But now they had their spring. A lovely fresh kind of spring, hot enough for a young hobbit lad to stay outside only in his shorts and shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Merry's eyes scanned the meadow and he smiled. It was all yellow. Rich yellow, saffron, gold... and everything in between. Even the normally green grass was buried under the army of dandelions. There must have been thousands of them! Merry really liked dandelions, although he wasn't sure why. It had probably something to do with the colour, which was really nice and shiny in a relaxing way. And they also smelled good. Not that dandelions had some sort of scent – they had their own kind of no-smell smell; it was the colour again. Yellow - the flavour of sunshine, cold Brandywine water and cucumber salad

Merry lied down in the grass, glad it wasn't summer already. There was this thing about the grass going all dry and smelly which kept forcing him to sneeze. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt like he could just lie here for the rest of his life by himself, smelling the grass, the dandelions and...

...the butter pie?

Merry's eyes threw open and settled on a hobbit face just a few inches above his.

"Hullo, Merry!" grinned Pippin and showed his tiny teeth. Merry rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop himself from smiling. Pippin's wide green eyes were sparkling, his cheeks were red, his hair sticking out in all directions, and the tip of his nose was yellow for some reason.

"For the hobbit's sake, Pip! Don't you dare to scare me like that again."

"But yer no fun, Mer!" Pippin frowned and his face was suddenly even closer. "Don't tell meh yer taking a nap here, ye old hobbit, when there's so much tae do!"

Merry laughed and pushed Pippin's head away.

"Oi! Who do you think you're calling old, you smelly little babbler?!"

He sat up and yawned. The sun looked like it was about to set. Pippin was kneeling beside him, still smiling, his nose still yellow and his arms full of dandelions.

"Pip, haven't your mum ever told you, that you shouldn't stick your little pointed nose into dandelion's blooms? And Anyway, Pip, what are you going to do with all of these?" he raised his eyebrows in amazement. "You're not going to wear a dandelion crown, are you?" Merry chuckled as he watched the younger hobbit blush.

"That's none of yer business," Pippin stuck his tongue out and turned his back to Merry, who couldn't hold the laughter anymore.

"Oi, Pip, don't be like that, I was just kid-" Merry wanted to say, but he couldn't talk, because his top was suddenly covered with dandelions and he couldn't help it but sneeze again.

"Pi – (sneeze) - ppin!" he managed, trying to grab the smaller hobbit's shirt.

"Serves ye right for calling meh nose pointed!" Pippin was too busy laughing at Merry, so he didn't have any chance to fight back when Merry caught both his wrists and grinned at him triumphantly. Pippin was still shuddering with laughter, his eyes filling with tears of joy.

"'M sorry, Mer, buy ye just looked so funny, Ah couldn't help mehself. And ye called meh beautiful nose pointed!"

"But it _is_ pointed, (sneeze) Pippin," Merry raised his eyebrows and sniffed.

"Oh ye think?!" Pippin frowned and pulled one of his hands out of Merry's weak grasp to touch the older hobbit's nose. "Meh nose might be a wee bit pointed, but yer nose looks like a bug!" he laughed again.

"I'm very proud of my nose, thank you very much! And let's go home, I'm getting hungry."

Merry finally released Pippin, they both stood up and Pippin bent down to collect his dandelions.

The two hobbits walked out of the meadow, unusually quiet – one of them obviously mortally offended and the second one lost in his thoughts. Their shoulders were bumping into each other and Merry could feel his left arm tingling. And there was also the funny feeling inside of his belly, which could have been just hunger, considering they had their last food half an hour ago. But maybe it wasn't it.

He felt great. And there was this smell of dandelions in the air coming from Pippin. Pippin's eyes were glittering with yellow and green and he was already smiling again. That little imp couldn't hold a serious face even when he was playing offended. Merry chuckled and Pippin's eyes turned to look at him.

"What's?" Pippin raised his eyebrows and he looked so funny mature when he did it, that Merry couldn't help himself but chuckle again.

"Sorry, Pip, alright? I shouldn't have called your nose pointed. Are we fine now?"

"...aye, maybe," nodded Pippin, the stubborn bastard, and turned his eyes away.

They walked in silence and Merry was getting impatient. Also, he noticed that Pippin's grin looked more mischievous now.

" I_ think_ you'd look nice in that dandelion crown," Merry finally broke the silence, realizing that he spoke out the truth. Pippin would really look beautiful with dandelions in his cinnamon hair. They would go well with the yellow sparkles in his eyes.

"Ye know..." Pippin said in his innocent tone, "I was making that crown for you, Mer." He was looking at Merry again with no signs of offence in his face anymore. "I thought it would rather suit _ye_. Yer hair already looks a bit like a dandelion," he explained shyly and Merry felt his cheeks burn.

"Ah..." he answered, not really sure what to say.

"Well I could always give that crown to some nice hobbit lass tomorrow at Bilbo's birthday party," continued Pippin.

"Ah yes, that you should, Pip," Merry nodded, knowing that Pippin was just kidding.

"Oi, Mer!" Pippin's eyes narrowed.

"Silly Pip!" Merry threw an arm around Pippin's shoulders and messed up his hair with the other hand.

"Ye will dance with meh at thae party, won't ye?" Pippin asked, and Merry noticed he was blushing. The feeling inside Merry's belly was getting stronger and now he was sure it had nothing to do with food.

"Of course I will, Pip! But shouldn't you ask some pretty lass first?" he teased. Then he patted his younger cousin on the shoulder and pulled him closer to plant a light kiss at the top of his head.

"Nahh... Ah don't know," Pippin replied with a pensive face. "Lasses are strange. They talk too much and... they giggle when they look at meh," he murmured extremely ashamed. Merry laughed again.

"But you talk just as much as the lasses, Pip. And they giggle at you just because they fancy you."

"Do they really?" Pippin gave him a confused look. "Ah never giggle when Ah fancy someone," he added.

"You... you fancy someone?" It wasn't _that _strange actually. His younger cousin was no longer a baby. He was already smoking and drinking (Merry's work), and although he was still as silly as always, there was this mature look in his eyes sometimes. Merry had always thought it was funny when he saw Pippin with that look, but it wasn't so funny now. Rather uncomfortable.

Pippin looked at the dandelions in his arms and blushed again.

"Ah... aye, Ah might fancy someone," he nodded finally and buried his face in the flowers. Merry smiled at him kindly.

"Stop it, Pip. You'll stumble and break your neck. That's normal you like someone. So let's talk to them at the party tomorrow."

"_No!_" Pippin cried out with his head still in the dandelions.

"Why not? Well, say their names then, and I will tell them instead, if you want," offered Merry, still feeling quite uncomfortable about the whole situation.

"Ye don't need tae," said Pippin, and finally stopped walking, lifting his head. Merry didn't have any time to laugh at Pippin, whose face was now all yellow, because he was suddenly shut up with his lips. Pippin's thin arms wrapped around his waist so naturally like they had always belonged there and Merry just melted into them. All went blank and the only things he could feel were Pippin's soft and unexperienced lips brushing against his, and the strong smell of dandelions coming from his hair.

"So," said Pippin when their lips finally parted. "Will ye dance with meh at thae party, Mer?" He set his green eyes on Merry, who was all weak in the knees and felt like sneezing again.

"Sure, but only if you make me the dandelion crown."

"Deal!" Pippin smiled and bent down to collect the flowers for the second time in a day.


End file.
